Postgraduate Course: Corals in a Changing Ocean (PGGE11231)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the impacts of climate change on tropical and cold-water corals and their ecosystems. To explore this, we investigate the past, present and future of corals. Past: how have previous climatic changes impacted on corals, and how can we use corals as climatic records. Present: what range of environments do they currently live in, how do we sustainably manage coral ecosystems and their goods and services, and how can we assess coral 'health'. Future: what are the major threats to coral reef ecosystems, how do we assess what impacts may be and what can be done to minimise impacts. |
| Course description |
This course will start with climate change (what it is and the what is projected) to set the rest of the course in context. Present day extant coral ecosystems will be covered, including the biology and ecology of tropical and deep-sea corals. Then the history of coral ecosystems will be developed, both in terms of 1) how they have evolved and created the ecosystems we recognise today, and 2) how we can use them to look into ocean history as proxies.
1) Climate Change (Physical)
a) How and why is the ocean changing?
b) How has it changed in the past, and what is projected for the future?
c) Ocean Acidification, Global Warming, Circulation changes, Hypoxia
2) Present day coral ecosystems
a) What is a coral
b) Coral biology and ecology (tropical & Cold water)
c) Coral ecosystem goods and services
3) Historic (Past) coral ecosystems (1)
a) Development of reefs and mounds
b) Evolution of corals
4) Historic (Past) coral ecosystems (2- Palaeoproxies)
a) Coral biomineralisation
b) Proxies of temperature, nutrients, and pH
5) Applied scientific methods
a) How to survey and assess coral ecosystems
b) Fieldwork techniques
c) Laboratory experiments
d) Future developments
e) Tutorial group exercise on assessing a coral habitat
6) Looking to the future, how will changing oceans impact coral ecosystems
a) Coral bleaching
b) Ocean acidification and a shoaling aragonite horizon
c) Hypoxia
7) Exploitation in coral ecosystems
a) Fisheries
b) Mining
c) Pollution
d) Oil and Gas exploration
8) Management and conservation of coral ecosystems
a) Marine protected areas and enforcement
b) Policy instruments, UNCLOS
9) Role playing assessment (1)- Preparation
a) Students part of a parliamentary select committee (assigned roles and sectors)
b) Prepare documents and arguments for session 2
10) Role playing assessment (2)- Interaction and produced report
a) Engagement and debates between parties and sectors
b) Produced reports
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand how corals evolved, grow and how they can be used to reconstruct climate and physical environment
- Design experiments to assess coral health
- Understand the ecosystem services and goods provided by corals
- Recognise potenital sectoral threats to corals and their ecosystems
- Identify key policy agreements (binding and non-binding) to protect corals in the tropics and deep sea
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Reading List
1. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2014). An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity (Eds: S. Hennige, J.M. Roberts & P. Williamson). Montreal, Technical Series No. 75, 99 pages
2. Rachel Wood. Reef Evolution.Oxford University Press
3. Murray Roberts et al. Cold Water Corals. The biology and geography of deep sea coral habitats. Cambridge University Press |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Graduates will gain a deeper understanding of the geology, biology and ecology of corals and the ecosystems they create, and the environmental and societal implications of how climate change and human activities impact these ecosystems. Skills attained will include applied scientific methods for assessing coral health and habitats; critical thinking in approaches to policy and management relevant to corals and changing oceans. |
| Keywords | Corals,Climate Change,Changing Oceans |
Contacts
| Course organiser | |
Course secretary | Miss Susie Crocker
Tel: (0131 6)51 7126
Email: |
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